Chronic pain is a significant problem for many osteoarthritic patients. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop better ways to evaluate and treat pain in patients having osteoarthritis. The proposed study uses a newly developed questionnaire method to assess pain coping strategies in a population of patients having osteoarthritis and chronic knee pain. Osteoarthritic knee pain is a particularly appropriate type of pain in which to evaluate coping strategies. Osteoarthritis of the knees is a common degenerative condition and complaints of pain have been found to be related to the degree of osteoarthritic changes in the knees. In the proposed study, pain coping strategies and comprehensive evaluations of functional status will be carried out on 200 patients having osteoarthritis of the knees and chronic knee pain. Evaluations will include measures of pain, physical disability and psychological disability taken using the Arthritis Impact Measurement Scale as well as an observation of motor pain behaviors (guarded movement, body posturing, and facial expressions). Data will be analyzed in order to: 1) determine the frequency with which various pain coping strategies are used, 2) to examine the relationship between different types of pain coping strategies, and 3) to determine the extent to which coping strategies predict pain and functional status above and beyond what can be predicted on the basis of medical status variables (severity and distribution of osteoarthritis, duration of pain, disability/financial compensation status and obesity), and demographic variables (age, sex, race, and socio-economic status). Significant benefits are likely to emerge from this research. First, the information provided is likely to increase the ability of rheumatologists to advise patients regarding how their coping strategies relate to pain. Second, methods used may identify patients using maladaptive coping strategies who are in need of specific and timely interventions to prevent adverse behavioral reactions to pain. Finally, if certain coping strategies are found to be particularly effective, then this information can be used to guide intervention efforts.